Dueling to Decide
by Caltriad Fangues
Summary: Outlaw Star/Dragon Ball Z Crossover. There's a small bit of yaoi involved, but nothing too major. Rated for language and violence.


Author's Note:  Hey all.  I know I said my other fic was my first, but if you go chronologically, this one's really the first thing that I wrote.  I should probably warn you that there is a tad bit of yaoi in the story, but there isn't anything beyond kissing, so it's all good.  It's still PG-13 though because of the violence though, and the language… which I really don't have to do, but I'm going to anyways.  Now they can't say I'm polluting their children's minds…  Oh, right.  Almost forgot:  Outlaw Star concepts, places, and Tao Magic are property of… well, of the Outlaw Star staff I guess…  Same goes for the DBZ fighting style concepts used, meaning that they're the property of the DBZ staff people.

            "What is it this time, Rikkei?"  Caltriad asked, stepping onto the bridge as he slipped on his glove.

            "Sentinel 3 Ground Control is refusing us docking clearance.  They say that we're carrying contraband cargo aboard and they're sending a ship out to investigate it."

            "Great.  That can't be good.  I knew one of these smuggling jobs would eventually land me in a jail somewhere.  Any idea how they knew?"

            "They said that the received an anonymous tip this morning about the ship."

            "Gah… damnable bastards.  I'll bet the normal cargo company sent it, probably to get money out of the insurance.  How much time do we have till their Scouter gets up here?"

            "Approximately 7 galactic standard hours sir."

            "7 hours?!  We could've hi-tailed it by then, if we really wanted to.  But I'm going to stay.  I don't know, I get a weird feeling that I need to be here somehow…  Run a scan on the cargo company's financial records; dig up anything you can.  I'm going to go back to bed while you do that.  Geez, can't even get dressed on this ship without having to take your clothes off right after…"

            "Will do sir," Rikkei said with a smile.  She'd been on this ship since the beginning, and not one day had been a boring one.  Of course, being the bio-android control for a ship is not an easy thing to do, and it took up most of her time.  Caltriad, or Calt, as he had most people call him, was a fun captain though, and life was never boring with him.  He was about 5'10", athletic build, with an average amount of body fat.  Most of the fat was stored inside his muscles, though, as he was an expert martial artist and Tao Master.  His black hair, black eyes, and black clothing was a bonus for him too, and he could've had every girl planet-side on him in a heartbeat, and every man too, if he wanted.  Unfortunately, he didn't want the girls, and was quite selective when it came to men.  He hadn't had a relationship for a long time, even though he did bring many guys on board the ship, if only for a night.  At age 17, he was the man everyone wanted, and few could have.

~*~*~*~

6 hours later

~*~*~*~

            Calt yawned as he stepped back into the bridge, this time not bothering to have dressed, and wearing only some forest green boxers.  "How much longer till the Scouter gets here?"  He asked, at the same time looking over the financial records that Rikkei had had displayed on the console in front of him for at hour.  _Geez that boy can sleep_, she thought, deciding instead to answer his question with, "An hour."

            "Aw crap, see I told you, every time I get undressed, I've got to get dressed again, and every time I get dressed, I've got to get undressed.  Maybe I should just be a nudist," Calt said, a hint of annoyed sarcasm coloring his voice.

            Rikkei couldn't help but giggle, even though she tried to suppress it.

            "Hide the illicit cargo," Calt said, looking at her with a wry smile on his face.

            "But, it _is_ hidden, remember?  You did it yourself after we left port."

            "I mean hide it where an idiotic person would hide it as if they were trying to frame me.  Have I taught you nothing?  The first rule of subterfuge is…"

            "'To get everything down to the psychology right if you never want them to figure out it was you,'" Rikkei said, finishing and leading Caltriad on his own saying.  Caltriad merely looked at her in an annoyed fashion before continuing, "Well the cargo was packed in by the space port; without their knowledge of course, but they still did it.  Hopefully their prints are still on the crates.  Records show that the only time they could've packed the cargo was a registered time when everyone was loading cargo, or sometime when absolutely no one was watching.  Two of the times in which no one was watching occurred on Blue Haven, thanks to a lapse in guard, where we picked up the cargo.  Since we've still got the corporate packer's fingerprint on file, I'll make a replica, clean off the crates, put his fingerprints on it, and manipulate the records in order to make the frame look legit," he paused for a minute, staring intently at a file that he'd brought up himself.  Finally looking up he said to Rikkei, "Ironic isn't it?  I'm making an illegal act look like it was legally done.  Oh and you can take this company off of our list, they won't have a dime after the trials are done,"  Calt said, "Oh and, Set."

            "Yes, Captain," the ships computer responded.

            "Send me the dock records for our trip to Blue Haven."

            "Sir, you would be committing a felony if you alter those records."

            "Set, how many times have I told you, yes I know, now forward the records to my cabin.  And prep the lab."

            "Yes sir," Set responded.

            "Before I do anything though, I'm going to get dressed.  Hold orbit and alert me when the ship comes within comm. range.  I've got an intense hour ahead of me," after that Caltriad stepped out of the bridge and headed towards his room.

            _I swear, another ingenious plan from the mastermind.  If I were anyone else I would've thought he was crazy for trying to pull of something like that.  Sad thing is, he'll probably manage to pull it all off, and have time to spare._  Rikkei thought, stepping out, off the control tube, and heading towards the cargo bay.  _With any luck, I'll have this done in 30 minutes,_ she thought,_ Without it, it'll probably take me 45.  Hopefully it'll be enough for Calt to get everything done either way.  Hopefully…_  Finally having reached the cargo bay, she set about to "hide" the illegitimate cargo.

~*~*~*~

1 Standard Galactic hour later…

~*~*~*~

            "The Dock Patrol's Scouter is here, sir," Set chimed in, the mobile surveying unit in the cargo bay acting as his voice.

            "Thanks Set.  I just finished anyways.  Oh, another thing Set," Calt, responded, rising up from where he'd been squatting next to a cargo container and looking at the mobile unit.

            "Yes Captain?"

            "Apep is looking for a servant to help battle the gods."  The mobile unit went dead for a minute as all the lights on the ship flickered on and off.  Using his father's money, Calt had hired someone to program the computer to fully delete any illegal activities from it's records whenever Calt said a cue phrase, which happened to be the one he'd just said.  The programmer was of course dead by now, but that was unimportant right now.  Rushing out to the docking hatch, he managed to catch the Docking Patrol Crew introducing themselves to Rikkei.

            "Oh," Rikkei said, "Here's the captain himself.  Calt, this is the Sentinel 3 Dock Patrol Crew."

            "Nice to meet you," Calt said, flashing his most charming smile, and extending his hand for a handshake.  At the same time, looking over the man who appeared to be the senior officer.  The man obviously worked out, and was just about as muscular as Calt himself, and almost the exact same height.  His helmet, complete with an opaque faceplate, covered his face.

            "Likewise," the Patrol Officer said, a note of interested awe tinting his voice.  Taking Caltriad's hand, he used his free hand to take off his helmet, revealing shockingly blonde hair and deep, almost dazzling sapphire blue eyes.  "It's a beautiful ship, if I might say so."

            "Thanks, took a while to piece together, but I managed.  Here, why don't I give you a tour?" Caltriad asked, again smiling in an exceedingly charming way.

            "If you don't mind," another officer stepped in, "We aren't here for a tour, we're here to search you for illegal goods."

            "Why don't you guys go ahead to the cargo bay," the Officer in charge said to his crew, "I'm sure a little tour won't hurt," he added, turning to face Caltriad.  "My name's Serge by the way."

            "Rikkei," Calt said, tilting his head towards her but keeping his eyes on Serge, "Why don't you show these men to the cargo bay?  I think I'm going to go give Serge a tour of the ship..."

            "Sure," Rikkei replied.  She'd been watching the exchange between Calt and Serge the entire time, and hadn't failed to notice that neither had let go after the handshake, in fact… Checking quickly, she realized that they were still holding hands.  _Maybe this one'll last a bit more than a night…_ She thought, turning down the hall to the cargo bay.

~*~*~*~

A few galactic standard minutes later

~*~*~*~

            "So," Calt said, leading Serge down another hallway towards his room.  They'd seen the mess hall, galley, and the bridge, and they'd been holding hands the entire way through.  "Do you live on Sentinel 3?"

            "Yeah," Serge replied, he'd been growing fonder for this boy the more time they spent together, "I've been wanting to build my own ship and go out an explore, but I never seem to have enough money.  And a Dock Patrol Officer doesn't exactly pay much but it's all I've got to live off of…"

            Calt wanted desperately to take this boy with him, and he'd never felt that way about anyone, but he didn't know how to broach the subject.  "You say that you want to go out and explore… why?"

            "It's always been my dream…  I love space; I can't help it.  But I also love protecting people… which is why I joined the Dock Patrol Force.  I feel… safe when I'm in space," Serge let out a small chuckle, "But I feel safer with you," Serge turned just outside of, what he presumed, was Calt's cabin.  Looking Calt dead in the eye, he was caught up in his darkened pools of black obsidian.

            Taking Serge's other hand, Caltriad pulled him close, and said, "Then stay with me.  We'd only have to stay in Sentinel for a few days, after that, we could follow your dream and become explorers; lord knows I've got the money."

            "You want me to go off with a guy that I've barely even met, who may very well still be a hardened criminal, and live the rest of my life with him?"  Serge asked, tender affection coloring his face.

            "Yes.  You said so yourself, you feel safe with me.  And I've **never** wanted to take anyone I've met with me.  But… I don't know.  I feel safe with you…  It just feels right.  Call it destiny, fate, whatever…  I just want to be with you…"

            "I know… but I can't just leave everything behind… my job, my family, my friends…"

            "Yes, you can.  Like I said, I've got enough money to support the both of us…  Your family will understand, like you said, this is your dream.  As for your friends…"

            "I don't know.  I just don't… and you can't ask me to make this decision," Serge said, visibly torn, he stepped away from Calt and looked down, averting his gaze.

            Calt raised up Serge's chin with his right index finger.  Looking into his eyes for a brief moment, he leaned in and kissed him.  The two kissed for, what seemed an eternity, even though it was only a brief moment, before Serge's comm. ringed on.

            "Uh, Sir?" the voice on the comm. interrupted.

            Breaking the kiss, Serge's eyes lingered on Calt before turning on the comm.  "What do you want?" the irritation was only semi-apparent.

            "We've got-"

            "Don't even say it.  Come on, meet back at the ship ASAP.  We didn't find anything."

            "But-"

            "I don't want to hear it!  Move!"

            Calt looked at Serge evenly before saying, "You didn't have to do that."

            "I wanted to.  How long are you going to be on Sentinel?"

            "5 days.  But for you, eternity."

            "Three nights from now, meet me near an old barn storehouse just outside of town.  If you can beat me in a duel, then I'll be happy to go with you.  If not, then I get to stay on Sentinel, and you leave as soon as you can't pay the docking fee."

            "Okay.  One question though," Caltriad said, surprisingly unfazed.

            "Shoot."

            "Why?"

            "Because, if you can beat me in a fight, which is something not even the strongest fighter on Sentinel can do, it means that you're stronger, and since you seem to be a moderate representation of what the world beyond can do, then it means that the world beyond holds endless opportunities for me to grow stronger.  If you can't, then I'm already strong enough and don't need to do some 'outside training'," he said, trying to explain his methodology.  This time though, he noticed Caltriad's eyes held a sense of kinship in them.

            "Well then, I hope I don't make the outside world seem weaker than it is.  Wouldn't want to let everyone out there down because they never got a chance to see you."

            "Huh?" Serge replied, trying to figure the relevance it had with what he'd said.

            "I understand the why, because I tried the exact same thing when I left home, but the rest of those detail will have to wait."

            "Why?" Serge asked.

            "Because your crew's probably waiting for you in front of the docking hatch."

            "Oh right," Serge said, heading down the passage towards the hatch.  Once they had both made it and most of his crew was out and onto their own ship, Serge turned to Calt, "See you in three nights," he said, putting his helmet on and heading towards his own ship.

            Closing the hatch, Calt turned around and leaned with his back to the cold steel.

            "So, how'd it go?" Rikkei asked innocently, "I mean, what did you do that made him gloss over the contraband materials?"

            "I kissed him…" Calt said, obviously moonstruck, "And I think I'm in love with him…" With that, Calt headed off towards his own cabin to think, leaving behind a very surprised and confused Rikkei.

~*~*~*~

3 Days later… Planet-side

~*~*~*~

            It had been three days since Serge had boarded his ship and somewhat foiled his plans at framing the cargo company that had framed him.  Okay, so his plans had been irrevocably foiled, but he'd come out of it for the better.  No amount of money could've replaced what Calt felt, or the emptiness that had consumed him.  On his first day planet-side, Caltriad had gone off to check out the battle site, in order to survey the terrain.  He'd gone at twilight and stayed for most of the night, watching how the moonlight alternately hid and revealed different spots or bumps.  By the second day, he'd been more resolute to win this fight than he'd been to do anything in his life.  He wasn't going to let this one slip away from him… and he wasn't planning on leaving him at any point in time either.  But now the time was fast approaching for him to go meet Serge.  The second time he'd faced a lover on the battlefield; it would be the last if Calt had any say in it, too.

            About 10 minutes later, Caltriad had managed to move himself from the docking port over to the battlefield, and found Serge already waiting for him.  There was something odd about Serge though, at least from Calt's point of view.  _He seems almost… lighter.  Almost as if he's glowing… internally_, he thought as he got out of the car.  He realized now that Serge, even though he was no Tao Master, would indeed be a tough opponent, no matter where his powers came from.

            "I can see how you managed to become the greatest fighter on Sentinel 3.  It's not Tao magic, but it's strong.  I can tell that much," Calt said, somewhat awkwardly.

            "It's an old fighting style.  My grandfather taught it to me," Serge replied, getting into a fighting stance facing Calt.

            "So, what're the rules?  No weapons?  No magic?  What?"

            "Anything goes… it's always funner that way."

            "If you say so," Calt said, drawing a long blood katana from a sheath on his back, hidden by his trench coat, and getting into a fighting stance with it.

            For a minute the two fighters simply faced off, neither moving a single inch, each fighter's eyes locked with the others.  Caltriad had a reason to maintain his stillness though.  Underneath the black clothing, which he'd worn to hide which muscles were tensed from Serge, every single muscle in his body had tensed and was drawing Tao energy towards him.  In his mind the mantra ran over and over again, made only slightly less effective from it's lack of material substance as a said phrase.  Caltriad had learned long ago that you never really needed to say the mantra, as long as it was present as a thought.  Serge on the other hand had decided to wear a tight-fitting orange shirt with loose navy blue pants, and was trying desperately to feel Caltriad's power change.  Suddenly what he'd been looking for came in a huge burst of power from Caltriad.  Caltriad had gathered enough power and was ready to release it in any form that seemed convenient.  Focusing the energy first into his aura, he made is body glow as the electrons in the air around him were charged with Tao energy, then, with a grunt and a shove with his sword, he forced all of his gathered energy into the blade, and charged at Serge.  Serge had seen the boy's body glow, and for a second he'd thought that he'd know the Art to which he, and he alone, at least on Sentinel, had been privileged to.  Seeing him force the energy into the blade though, he realized that Caltriad was using Tao magic, not Ki to charge himself.  Jumping at the last possible second, he avoided Caltriad's initial sword slash, but the energy had a purpose.  Caltriad pushed the energy beyond the blade into an energy slash that traveled up into the air, right where Serge had jumped.  Seeing his folly, Serge propelled his body forward through the air, responding with a ball of energy himself.  Caltriad turned, the muscles in his arms tensing while the rest of him stayed at ease, he swung his sword right through the attack, sending it flying into a nearby hill.  _Jesus,_ Calt thought, _Even the full extent of my magic wasn't able to destroy that blast… He's strong, I'll grant him that.  But I'm still stronger; I've still got my ace._  Serge had landed and the two fighters were once again facing off.  This time though, Serge sensed closer to Caltriad, in order to hopefully avoid another surprise like that.  Caltriad's body was once again tensed under the fabric of his garments.  This time though, he did not force the energy outside, or even into the sword, instead he kept his muscles tensed, hiding the energy inside himself.  Stepping back in a signal that meant Caltriad would not attack first, Serge charged in, playing right into Caltriad's hands.  Throwing the sword at Serge, Caltriad brought both of his hands together in front oh his chest, a ball of Tao forming there.  Serge jumped over the blade, and executing a summersault in mid air, he brought he boot down to where Caltriad's face should've been.  Landing on one foot, and therefore unbalanced, he realized that Caltriad was now surrounding him… or at least replicas of Caltriad were surrounding him.  What took him a moment longer to register though, was the fact that each ball of energy in front of each Caltriad's chest was in all actuality a ball of energy, while the other Caltriad's weren't.

In the moment that it had taken for Serge to realize he was surrounded, Caltriad had acted, pulling all of the copies back, without their balls of Tao, Caltriad thrust his arms forward, firing all 15 odd blasts of Tao.  Serge barely had time to react, and even then, it was almost to late.  Once the dust cleared, Serge was there, still standing, his clothes torn and his body bruised.  He'd managed to erect an energy barrier in the few precious seconds that he'd had, but even that couldn't stand against that much pure energy.  Caltriad had only been slightly ruffled by the attack, his trench coat billowing back to where it had been before.

            "So," Serge panted, "That's what a Tao Master's magic can do, eh?"

            "Oh no my dear boy," Caltriad said, throwing off his trench coat, and getting into a fighting stance once more, "Any mid-level Tao magician can do that.  A Tao Master can do **so** much more."

            Serge simply looked incredulously at Caltriad.  _Jesus,_ he thought, _I'd known that Caltriad was strong, but I didn't think he was this strong…_

            Caltriad's muscles had once again tensed, and Serge, realizing that the fight was far from over, wearily got into a fighting stance once more.  And yet again the two fighters found themselves in a face off.  Each one now truly cued in on what the others' "potential" was.  Caltriad though, intended to use it to its limit though, even though he didn't know that Serge would too.

Charging up his Tao energies once more, Caltriad set the mantra running over and over again in his head.  He could feel the fibers of his muscles expand and could also feel the Tao energy building up inside of then.  Realizing that without the mantra being spoken, he would never have enough power to release his "ace".  _So,_ he thought, _looks like **not** saying the mantra puts a cap on the max power you can store.  Oh well, he probably knows by now that this fight's going to last a long time._  Serge had indeed sensed Caltriad's energies building, and instead of charging blindly like he'd done before, Serge switched postures on of a more defensive nature.  _This time,_ he resolved, _I won't be caught unawares._  Caltriad began the mantra slow and low, just as he'd been taught.  Using the gathering speed and tenor of the mantra in order to set the gathered energies he'd gotten into a frenzy, the energies began to multiply; exponentially.  But, as his body gathered more energy than it could hold (it's limit being what he'd garnered without the mantra), the edges of Caltriad's body became somewhat hazy, and a dripping light glowed from him, even though it seemed to drip upwards.  Serge realized that Caltriad was powering up for something major, and with extreme concentration began gathering his own energies.  Once Caltriad had been practically humming the mantra, he realized it was time.  _Thank god,_ he thought, _my muscles can't hold much more of this._  Caltriad let out a mighty scream, saying the mantra one last time, and as his muscles relaxed and his body doubled over, a brilliant blue light filled the area, lighting it up just as much as natural sunlight would.  From Caltriad's exposed back; a wispy blue, snake-like form was rising, tearing Caltriad's shirt as it went.  It seemed to take forever for the thing to finally "settle" into the sky above Caltriad's still smoking (and very much intact) body.  Looking up at the form, Serge realized what **it** was.  _It_ had formed into a semi-solid, coiled, obviously long dragon.  "Shen-long…" Serge whispered, dumbfounded.  Finally able to rise from his ordeal Caltriad looked over at Serge and said, "Yes, Shen-long.  The God-Dragon.  Formed here entirely from my energies: my body, my mind, my soul.  If this dragon died, I would too.  _That_ is what _real_ Tao Masters can do, though I expected it to be somewhat bigger."

            "Bigger?!" Serge asked incredulously.  _That thing has got be at least three football fields long, uncoiled,_ he thought, _and he wants it **bigger**?!_

"Yes, of course bigger.  Its length is an indicator to our power.  And the legendary Hazanko was said to have once summoned a Shen-long who was at least four times the size of mine, and that was supposedly _before_ the Anten Seven."  By now the dragon was obviously becoming more and more restless, and Serge could see that unless he did something, he could kiss this battle goodbye.  Focusing his own gathered energies, Serge let out a might shout, "_Kaiyo Ken times 10!!!_".  Glowing red energies seemed to envelope his body, and his muscles bulged as his own power obviously grew.  The dragon, sensing this as a threat, uncoiled itself from above Caltriad, and set itself to attack Serge.

Unable to cast magic due to the fact that the dragon was using up all of his Tao energies, he was left to rely on three things: his Caster, his katana, and his own skills in the martial arts.  Taking out his Caster quite calmly and fitting in a #1 shell, he slowly took aim on Serge, the boy now locked fiercely in battle with his Shen-long.  _Hold him so that I can get a clear shot_, Caltriad commanded to the dragon.  The dragon's eyes glowed for a second, and the dragon itself was quickly able to wrap itself around and constrict Serge.  While the dragon was holding him still, Caltriad let loose with the Caster shell at the same time that Serge released an immense surge of energy.  The dragon shrieked in pain and let go of Serge, who promptly fell while the Caster "bullet" continued off, missing its target entirely.  Cursing his bad luck and lack of sheer power, Caltriad quickly put the Caster away.  _Now,_ he commanded the dragon, at the same time getting into an attack stance, _Attack in concert; don't let him breathe.  We'll wear him down with sheer power.  Pincer formation._  The dragon let out a roar, and quickly positioned itself above and behind Serge, while Serge faced Caltriad.  Quickly sensing his predicament, Serge turned so that both opponents were to his side and slightly in front of him.  Caltriad's blows Serge easily parried, but he was having more and more trouble blocking the dragon's claws and teeth, not to mention its long sinuous body that threatened to knock him out with its sheer weight.  Finally Caltriad scored a hit.  Bringing his right leg up in an inside crescent kick, something that Serge had entirely missed due to the Shen-long, Caltriad was able to snag him square in the side of the head, just below the temple.  Staggering under the sheer force of such an attack on such a weak point on the body, and the weight of unconsciousness, Serge barely managed to let off a wild energy attack, that while weak, caught Caltriad square in the chest, hitting, and absorbing, straight into his solar plexus.  The energy flux in his own body from an outside source caused his body to go into a "hard-reset", his energies straining to make things balanced once more, and knocking him unconscious as well and ending the battle.

            Rikkei had been watching the entire thing from the shadows of the abandoned mission.  "Men," she said aloud, not fearing from being discovered since they had both been knocked out cold, and the influx of energy had caused Caltriad's Shen-long to dissipate, the Tao returning to balance the forces inside Calt's body.  "You can't live with them and you can't live without them.  And even still they're not happy unless they're beating the crap out of something," she continued, walking over to check Calt's life-signs.  Assuring herself that he was indeed alive, she walked over to Serge and made sure that the same was true for him.  Their clothes had practically been ripped to shreds in the battle, but this really didn't bother Rikkei, because she knew that it wouldn't bother them.  Gathering the loose items from the battlefield, namely Caltriad's blood katana, which was sticking point first out of the ground, right where Calt had left it, and Caltriad's trench coat, which still lay somewhat near where it had been tossed.  Putting these items in the trunk of Caltriad's car, she gathered up first Serge, laying him down on the backseat, then Caltriad, propping him up in the front seat.  Driving back to the ship, she said only one thing during the entire trip: "Well, as for the fight ruling, I'd say that would count as a draw.  Looks like we've got a new member to our little troupe," which was said with an almost schoolgirl like innocence, not one of it reaching back into the unconscious minds of the other in the car.  Mainly because both of those minds were dreaming of the other.


End file.
